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For more than 100 years the Society of Professional Journalists has been dedicated to encouraging a climate in which journalism can be practiced more freely and fully, stimulating high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of journalism and perpetuating a free press.

About the Foundation

Since its founding in 1961, the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation has promoted excellence and ethics in journalism. The SDX Foundation is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization that supports the educational programs of the Society of Professional Journalists and serves the professional needs of journalists and students pursuing careers in journalism.

Excellence in Journalism 2015Sept 18-20, 2015 – Orlando

Excellence in Journalism is the national journalism conference of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Radio Television Digital News Association. Join us in September in Orlando for training, networking, workshops and more!

SPJ News

SPJ Blogs: Newest Posts

Quill Headlines

Journalist's Toolbox

@SPJ_Tweets

Connect with SPJ

SPJ on Facebook

Upcoming Eventsand Deadlines

Become an SPJ Member

For more than 100 years the Society of Professional Journalists has been dedicated to encouraging a climate in which journalism can be practiced more freely and fully, stimulating high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of journalism and perpetuating a free press.

About the Foundation

Since its founding in 1961, the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation has promoted excellence and ethics in journalism. The SDX Foundation is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization that supports the educational programs of the Society of Professional Journalists and serves the professional needs of journalists and students pursuing careers in journalism.

Excellence in Journalism 2015Sept 18-20, 2015 – Orlando

Excellence in Journalism is the national journalism conference of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Radio Television Digital News Association. Join us in September in Orlando for training, networking, workshops and more!

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Society of Professional Journalists commends the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) for its continued commitment to accuracy and full disclosure in the eminently newsworthy arena of medical studies.

In its June 5 issue, JAMA revisits the ethically charged area of peer review of medical studies, devoting the entire issue to the subject. The journal's editor, Dr. Catherine DeAngelis, explained that the issue "is our attempt to police ourselves, to question ourselves and to look at better ways to make sure that we're honest and straightforward and maintain the integrity of the journals."

"It is gratifying to see JAMA's courage and honesty in turning the microscope on its own profession, and particularly in its pointing out that conflicts can arise when drug studies are funded by the drug industry, a powerful influence in the medical community," said Fred Brown, a co-chair of SPJ’s Ethics Committee and former political editor at The Denver Post. "Integrity is imperative in any truth-seeking endeavor," Brown said. "That includes journalism as well as medicine."

SPJ, the nation's oldest, largest and broadest journalism organization, puts heavy emphasis on ethics in its efforts to promote responsible journalism. Its Code of Ethics, first adopted in 1926 and most recently revised in 1996, urges journalists to "be accountable" and to call attention to unethical practices in journalism. That includes specialized journals such as JAMA.

"Our code calls on us to `Clarify and explain news coverage,"' said Gary Hill, SPJ's ethics chair and director of investigations at KSTP-TV in the Twin Cities. "I think that is what JAMA did in this case. It can only enhance their credibility that they freely expose and examine their own shortcomings."

SPJ recognizes that this is a longstanding concern of JAMA. In a 1986 editorial announcing the AMA's first peer-review congress, Dr. Drummond Rennie, JAMA's deputy editor, cited "the appalling standards" for studies that meant "there are scarcely any bars to eventual publication." The journal now requires its authors to reveal any financial interests they have in subjects they write about, disclose who paid for studies that are subjects of their reports, and specify which authors of multiple-byline pieces conducted which parts of a study.

"Such safeguards are especially important for journals that deal with life-and-death matters and are supported in large part by manufacturers of drugs and medical equipment," said SPJ President Al Cross, a political writer and columnist for The (Louisville) Courier-Journal. "Journalists for the mainstream and specialty publications would do well to follow JAMA’s example. Reporters and editors should ensure that their own reporting recognizes the problem areas the medical journal cites, such as sources of funding, adequacy of peer review, exaggerations, misleading results and plain old inaccuracies."

The Society of Professional Journalists works to improve and protect journalism. SPJ is dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior. Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, and based in Indianapolis, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press.